Trump says he might attend White House Correspondents Dinner for 1st time

November 21, 2018 14:43

United States President Donald Trump has indicated that he might attend the annual White House Correspondent's Dinner next year as the event will for the first time in decades feature an eminent Pulitzer winning author instead of a comedian.

Unlike his predecessors, Trump has skipped the annual dinner of White House reporters twice time in a row. However, on Tuesday he welcomed the move of the White House Correspondent's Association and indicated that he might go to the annual event.

The White House Correspondent's Association on Monday announced that Ron Chernow, one of the most eminent biographers of American presidents and statesmen, would address its annual dinner on April 27, 2019 following the pushback over Wolf's sharply anti-Trump performance last time.

Trump hinted that he might attend the dinner.

"So-called comedian Michelle Wolf bombed so badly last year at the White House Correspondents' Dinner that this year, for the first time in decades, they will have an author instead of a comedian," Trump said in a late night tweet.

"Good first step in comeback of a dying evening and tradition! Maybe I will go?," Trump said.

The WHCA in a tweet confirmed regarding Chernow addressing the event next year.

"I'm delighted that Ron will share his lively, deeply researched perspectives on American politics and history at the 2019 White House Correspondents' Dinner," Olivier Knox, Chief Washington Correspondent for SiriusXM and president of the WHCA, said.

Chernow also confirmed the invitation from the WHCA.

"The White House Correspondents' Association has asked me to make the case for the First Amendment and I am happy to oblige," Chernow said in a statement.

"Freedom of the press is always a timely subject and this seems like the perfect moment to go back to basics. My major worry these days is that we Americans will forget who we are as a people and historians should serve as our chief custodians in preserving that rich storehouse of memory. While I have never been mistaken for a stand-up comedian, I promise that my history lesson won't be dry," he said. -- PTI